ASTM E2247-16

4.1 Uses—This practice is intended for use on a voluntary basis by parties who wish to assess the environmental condition of 4.2 Clarifications on Use: 

4.3 Related Standard Practice—This practice sets forth one procedure for an environmental site assessment known as a “4.3.1 Election to Commence with This Practice—The user may commence inquiry to identify 4.3.2 Who May Conduct—Whenever a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is conducted, it must be performed by an environmental professional, as defined in Appendix X2 (and 40 CFR 312.10(b)), to the extent specified in 7.5.1. Further, at the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment level, no practical standard can be designed to eliminate the role of judgment and the value and need for experience in the party performing the inquiry. The professional judgment of an 4.4 Additional Services—As set forth in 12.9, additional services may be contracted for between the user and the environmental professional

4.5 Principles—The following principles are an integral part of this practice and are intended to be referred to in resolving any ambiguity or exercising such discretion as is accorded the 4.5.1 Uncertainty Not Eliminated—No 4.5.2 Not Exhaustive—All appropriate inquiries does not mean an exhaustive assessment of a property. There is a point at which the cost of information obtained or the time required to gather it outweighs the usefulness of the information and, in fact, may be a material detriment to the orderly completion of transactions. One of the purposes of this practice is to identify a balance between the competing goals of limiting the costs and time demands inherent in performing an environmental site assessment and the reduction of uncertainty about unknown conditions resulting from additional information.

4.5.3 Level of Inquiry Is Variable—Not every 4.5.4 Comparison With Subsequent Inquiry—It should not be concluded or assumed that an inquiry was not 4.6 Continued Viability of Environmental Site Assessment—Subject to section 4.8, an environmental site assessment meeting or exceeding this practice and completed less than 180 days prior to the date of acquisition6 of the 4.7 Prior Assessment Usage—This practice recognizes that environmental site assessments performed in accordance with this practice will include information that subsequent 4.7.1 Use of Prior Information—Subject to the requirements set forth in section 4.6, users and environmental professionals may use information in prior environmental site assessments provided such information was generated as a result of procedures that meet or exceed the requirements of this practice. However, such information shall not be used without current investigation of conditions likely to affect recognized environmental conditions in connection with the property. Additional tasks may be necessary to document conditions that may have changed materially since the prior 4.7.2 Contractual Issues Regarding Prior Assessment Usage—The contractual and legal obligations between prior and subsequent 4.8 Actual Knowledge Exception—If the user or environmental professional(s) conducting an 4.9 Rules of Engagement—The contractual and legal obligations between an 1.1 Purpose—The purpose of this practice is to provide an alternative method to ASTM E1527 for good commercial and customary practice in the United States of America for conducting a 1.1.1 Standard Practice Selection—The methodology included in this practice is an effective and practical process for achieving the objectives of a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment of 1.1.2 Recognized Environmental Conditions—In defining a standard of good commercial and customary practice for conducting an 1.1.3 Related Standard Practices—This practice is closely related to Standard Practice E1527. Standard Practice E1527 is an environmental site assessment for 1.1.4 Petroleum Products—Petroleum products are included within the scope of this practice because they are of concern with respect to many parcels of forestland or rural property and current custom and usage is to include an inquiry into the presence of petroleum products when doing an 1.1.5 CERCLA Requirements Other Than Appropriate Inquiries—This practice does not address whether requirements in addition to all appropriate inquiries have been met in order to qualify for the LLPs (for example, the duties specified in 42 U.S.C. §9607(b)(3)(a) and (b) and cited in Appendix X1 including the continuing obligation not to impede the integrity and effectiveness of 1.1.6 Other Federal, State, and Local Environmental Laws—This practice does not address requirements of any state or local laws or of any federal laws other than the 1.1.7 Documentation—The scope of this practice includes research and reporting requirements that support the 1.2 Objectives—Objectives guiding the development of this practice are (1) to synthesize and put in writing good commercial and customary practice for environmental site assessments for 1.3 Considerations Beyond Scope—The use of this practice is strictly limited to the scope set forth in this section. Section 13 of this practice identifies, for informational purposes, certain environmental conditions (for example, threatened and endangered species and non-point source considerations) that may exist on a 1.4 Organization of This Practice—This practice has 13 Sections and 5 appendixes. Section 1 concerns the Scope. Section 2 relates to Referenced Documents. Section 3, Terminology, contains definitions of terms not unique to this practice, descriptions of terms unique to this practice, and acronyms. Section 4 describes the Significance and Use of this practice. Section 5 provides discussion regarding activity and use limitations. Section 6 describes the User's Responsibilities. Sections 7 – 12 are the main body of the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, including evaluation and report preparation. Section 13 provides additional information regarding non-scope considerations (see 1.3). The appendixes are included for information and are not part of the procedures prescribed in this practice. Appendix X1 explains the liability and defense provisions of CERCLA that will assist the 1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.6 This practice offers a set of instructions for performing one or more specific operations and should be supplemented by education, experience, and professional judgment. Not all aspects of this practice may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard practice does not necessarily represent the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project's unique aspects. The word “standard” in the title means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.